Three-dimensional Virtual Worlds Research Articles

Roadmap toward the metaverse: An AI perspective

Truth must be told, but not much—a hybrid society of real and virtual is coming. Metaverse,1 rise recently, is attracting significant attention from academia to industry. A metaverse is a network of three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds focused on social connection. Bearing the outbreak of the coronavirus 2019 pandemic, people are physically isolated, which triggered the growth of the metaverse. Different from existing work, this commentary targets the roadmap of the metaverse from an artificial intelligence (AI) perspective.

Some Very Simple Economics of Web3 and the Metaverse

The Metaverse refers to a shared vision among technology entrepreneurs of a three-dimensional virtual world, an embodied internet with humans and the physical world in it. As such, the Metaverse is thought to expand the domain of human activity by overcoming spatial, temporal, and resource-related constraints imposed by nature. The technological infrastructure of the Metaverse, i.e., Web3, consists of blockchain technology, smart contracts, and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), which reduce transaction and agency costs, and enable trustless social and economic interactions thanks to decentralized consensus mechanisms. The emerging Metaverse may give rise to new products and services, new job profiles, and new business models. In this brief note, I assess the promises and challenges of the Metaverse, offer a first empirical glimpse at the emerging Metaverse economy, and discuss some simple Metaverse economics that revolve around building and operating the Metaverse.

차 문화 및 산업 콘텐츠 개발을 위한 메타버스 사례 분석

The world of metaverse is expanding. Real-world classes, conferences, large-scale performances, and social gatherings are occurring in the metaverse space. Although it is in the early phase, metaverse appears to be a viable means of social connection and social gatherings for the world. This study aims to explore tea and tea culture-related metaverse contents. The study categorizes tea-related metaverse contents with education, culture·performance·tourism, and marketing·promotion. The three-dimensional metaverse virtual world is well suited for tea education, as educational topics span across centuries and geographical boundaries. Students can be transported into a particular time period and location in the virtual world. Since participating in tea culture performances and visiting tea gardens are possible in the virtual world, a virtual tea garden can be the new channel for tea marketing and promotion. Korean tea in a virtual hanok can appeal to tea drinkers around the world. This study proposes the development of a tea-related metaverse at the national or regional level to introduce Korean tea and tea culture to the expanding world of metaverse users.

Drivers of Users’ Embracement of 3D Digital Educational Spaces in Higher Education: A Qualitative Approach

Three-Dimensional Virtual Worlds (3DVW) have significant promise for the development of teaching and learning environments. Educational communities have become interested in such virtual platforms, and this technology has widely benefited educational settings. This study aims to identify the factors that drive the acceptance of 3DVWs as means for distance learning by higher education students, and provides a taxonomy of such drivers. A qualitative approach was employed for data collection to enable a detailed exploration. Two data collection instruments were used in the experiment: a virtual synchronous focus group and an open-ended question. One hundred twenty-one students participated in 13 virtual focus groups, and 124 students responded to the open-ended questions. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data, and as a result, 26 factors were identified as antecedents to the acceptance of 3DVW in higher education. Those factors are then classified into 12 categories based on their definition and similarities. Twenty-one out of the 26 factors impact the user acceptance of 3DVW positively, and five factors impact it negatively. The findings of this study indicate advances in theory, methodology, and pedagogical practice.

Teaching traditional Yao dance in the digital environment: Forms of managing subcultural forms of cultural capital in the practice of local creative industries

The use of digital environment technologies, such as virtual reality, is a modern way to teach dance. The use of virtual reality, as a new method of digital interaction between human and machine, makes it possible to solve the problems associated with the lack of feedback, as, for example, in video lessons. It provides users with a three-dimensional virtual world that has immersive and interactive characteristics, solves the problem of time and place limitations, tracks student actions, and monitors and corrects them, thereby enabling students and teachers to implement learning even under challenging pandemic constraints. Innovative pedagogical approaches also generate additional interest among today's students, which makes it possible to use them to make students more interested in studying traditional dance as a national and subcultural form of cultural capital. The research purpose is an experimental test study of the digital technology capabilities of a virtual reality system with motion capture for teaching dance (using the example of the traditional Chinese Yao dance). Eighty-three people (N = 83) took part in the study, randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. Preliminary tests of the experimental and control groups were compared using a two-sample t-test. There was no significant difference in the initial scores of the experimental and control groups. As a result of the analysis, it was revealed that there was a significant difference between the progress indicators in the experimental and control groups. The average improvement in the experimental group (11.48) was significantly higher than in the control group (2.86). A survey of students showed that 100% of the experimental group participants and 86.5% of the control group participants are ready to recommend the proposed teaching technology. Thus, it was found that the feedback offered to experimental group students facilitates the students' task of learning dance.

Applying Virtual Reality Assisted Critical Thinking Training Programs Among Nurse Practitioners

The three-dimensional virtual world generated in virtual reality (VR) environments involves vision, hearing, touch, and potentially other user senses. VR environments are designed to closely simulate real situations/scenarios, allowing users to observe and engage in experiences free of time and space restrictions. Virtual patients are an extension of virtual reality. In recent years, virtual reality exercises have been widely used in various medical education and training programs to promote professional competence. The clinical practice of nurse practitioners is similar to physicians in some institutions. Nurse practitioners perform supplementary medical services such as physical assessment, medical history collection and consultation, problem detection, test result assessment, differential diagnosis, and patient health problem decision-making under the supervision of physicians. The critical thinking component in nurse practitioner education is largely similar to that taught in medical education. VR is often used in medical education to train medical students. Also, VR may be applied in critical thinking training for nurse practitioners to promote competence in reasoning and differential diagnosis. However, few studies in the literature have evaluated the effectiveness of VR-based training for nurse practitioners in Taiwan. In the future, this issue needs to be studied further.

Wow, woo, win"- Healthcare students’ and facilitators’ experiences of interprofessional simulation in three-dimensional virtual world: A qualitative evaluation study

BackgroundIn an age disrupted by COVID-19 pandemic, three-dimensional virtual world (3DVW) offers an opportunity for healthcare students from different higher education institutions to participate in interprofessional education. Despite its growing evidence, there is a need to unravel the complex learning process in order to ensure high quality of interprofessional education delivery. AimThis study aimed to explore the experiences of healthcare students and facilitators on the use of 3DVW for interprofessional team-based virtual simulation. MethodsInterprofessional teams, each comprising six different healthcare students (Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, and Medical Social Work) and two clinicians who acted as facilitators, logged into the 3DVW from their own remote locations to participate in team-based care delivery that included an interprofessional bedside round and a family conference. A qualitative descriptive study was conducted on a purposive sample of 30 healthcare students and 12 facilitators using focus group discussions and individual interviews. ResultsFour themes emerged from their experiences: the “wow experience”, authentic experience on collaborative care, ease of learning, and preeminent role of the facilitator. The simulation provided the “wow” experiences through contextual, collaborative and experiential learning approaches. Despite technical challenges, the participants were wooed by the comforts of learning from home and the psychological safety in virtual environment. The facilitators played a critical role in optimizing learning engagement to win learners over. ConclusionOur study explicates how attention to the “wow, woo and win” trilateral factors can transform the interprofessional learning experiences offered by 3DVW simulation. Future developments in the use of this learning technology should include developing the clinicians' facilitation skills and the provision of technical support to make this 3DVW a success calls in winning students' learning engagement.

A Systematic Literature Review on the User Experience Design for Game-Based Interventions via 3D Virtual Worlds in K-12 Education

A substantial body of literature has well-documented and demonstrated the potential of using three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds (VWs) across various learning subjects and contexts in primary and secondary (K-12) education. However, little is known when it comes to issues related to child-interaction research and the impact that design decisions have on the user experience (UX), especially when game-based learning approaches are employed in 3DVWs. Hence, in this systematic literature review, we appraise and summarize the most relevant research articles (n = 30) conducted in K-12 settings, published between 2006–2020 and that elicit information related to (a) the interaction design (ID) of game events and trends associated with game elements and features that were utilized for the development and creation of game prototypes, (b) the research methods which were followed to empirically evaluate their teaching interventions, and (c) the design-related issues and factors affecting ID and UX by identifying the most frequent set of learning and game mechanics that were adopted in various game prototypes in different learning subjects. The vast majority of game prototypes enhanced students’ engagement and participation, affecting their achievements positively. This systematic literature review provides clear guidelines regarding the design decisions that educational stakeholders should consider, and provides recommendations on how to assess and evaluate the students’ learning experience (i.e., performance, achievements, outcomes) using 3DVWs.

Understanding immersion in 2D platform-based online collaborative learning environments

Previous studies have revealed that when video gamers, or users of three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds, display intense concentration coupled with an emotional engagement in their undertaking, they are affected by multisensory stimuli. This can lead to developing a feeling of detachment from the physical world, which, in turn, can lead to high levels of participation and engagement. Notwithstanding these results, it remains unclear as to whether students can experience the same kind of immersion in two-dimensional (2D) platform-based online collaborative learning spaces as has been achieved in video games and 3D worlds and, if they actually can, which features would lead to similar levels of increased engagement. This study is one of the first attempts to investigate the immersion experiences of students engaged in two 2D online collaborative learning platforms, one text-based and the other video-based. Data from eight students revealed that key features of immersion observed in video games and 3D worlds also appeared during the online collaborative activities but that the way such immersion was perceived by the students was greatly affected by the characteristics of the individual platform. When emotional engagement was considered, empathy was found to play an important role in the participants’ immersion experiences.
 Implications for practice or policy:
 
 Text-based platforms could be effective in motivating students to focus more on the postings, while video-based platforms may be more effective in generating empathy with others through observation of body language.
 When selecting a communication platform for online collaboration, sensory stimuli of the platform should be carefully examined.
 Empathy could be developed prior to an online collaborative activity so that students reflect on their thoughts and consider others’ feelings for a more immersive learning experience.

A simple, ecologically rational rule for settling found property disputes

Who has property in a found item X, which is contained in Y? The finder of X or the person who has property in Y? The common law says it depends. It depends upon whether the owner of Y knew about X, or whether X was lost or mislaid, or how small the weight of X is relative to Y (as compared to its value), or whether the finder was an employee of the owner of Y, to name just a few. Wilson (2020) hypothesizes that humans universally cognize property as being contained in a thing. A testable implication of the hypothesis reveals a simpler, clearer rule for settling found property disputes in the common law: if A has property in Y and X is in Y, then A has property in X, even if B finds X. Using a 2 × 2 design, I report the results of a three-dimensional virtual world experiment to test how incentivized panels of participants award a found item to one of two actual parties who have an all-or-nothing financial stake in the panel's decision. The results of the experiment strongly support the hypothesis, even, unexpectedly, under counterfactual conditions.

Uncovering educational outcomes deriving from students’ acceptance and involvement with 3D virtual worlds

Three-Dimensional Virtual World (3DVW) is one of the promising innovations in the field of information and communication technologies. 3DVWs include user-created content, and they allow for user-defined purpose and a sense of presence. Users are able to navigate in and manipulate objects within the virtual environment through their avatar. This research examined the educational outcomes of using 3DVW by higher education students. As a result of this qualitative study, 18 factors were identified as the consequences of students’ acceptance of 3D Virtual World. These 18 factors were further categorised into eight categories, namely, positive learning outcome, satisfaction, engagement, learning style, environment impact, retention, skill development, and connectedness.

Comparison study of user experience between virtual reality controllers, leap motion controllers, and senso glove for anatomy learning systems in a virtual reality environment

Virtual Reality (VR) can be used as an assistive system to learn with immersive visualization and interactive control. Anatomy is a branch of biology that is difficult to learn using textbooks because of its limitations in displaying anatomical objects in two-dimensional media. VR can display anatomical objects in the form of a three-dimensional virtual world. Besides being assisted by its immersive appearance, the interactivity learning system can also be improved by using the appropriate VR control device. In this study, three controls were used with different features and functions, namely VIVE Controller, Leap Motion Controller, and Senso Glove, and a user experience study was conducted. The user was asked to use the anatomy learning system with three different control devices, and then the user was asked to fill out a survey form, which uses the Liker scale. The survey focuses on the level of acceptability and user satisfaction in the usability factor, ease of learning, the suitability of movement, suitability of display, and haptic feedback provided by each VR controllers. From this study, it was found that the VIVE Controller is superior compared to the Leap Motion Controller and Senso Glove in terms of usability, ease of learning, movement suitability, and display suitability. The senso glove is superior in terms of haptic feedback satisfaction.

Antecedents and Consequences of User Acceptance of Three-Dimensional Virtual Worlds in Higher Education

Antecedents and Consequences of User Acceptance of Three-Dimensional Virtual Worlds in Higher Education

A Simple, Ecologically Rational Rule for Settling Found Property Disputes

Abstract Who has property in a found item X, which is contained in Y? The finder of X or the person who has property in Y? The common law says it depends. It depends upon whether the owner of Y knew about X, or whether X was lost or mislaid, or how small the weight of X is relative to Y (as compared to its value), or whether the finder was an employee of the owner of Y, to name just a few. Wilson (2020) hypothesizes that humans universally cognize property as being contained in a thing. A testable implication of the hypothesis reveals a simpler, clearer rule for settling found property disputes in the common law: if A has property in Y and X is in Y, then A has property in X, even if B finds X. Using a 2 × 2 design, I report the results of a three-dimensional virtual world experiment to test how incentivized panels of participants award a found item to one of two actual parties who have an all-or-nothing financial stake in the panel's decision. The results of the experiment strongly support the hypothesis, even, unexpectedly, under counterfactual conditions.

ДОСВІД ІНФОРМАТИЗАЦІЇ МОРСЬКОЇ ОСВІТИ ЗА КОРДОНОМ

The article emphasizes the need to modernize the training of maritime professionals with the help of new information technologies. The urgency of the problem of improving the professional maritime education is conditioned by national and world trends in society in general and the maritime industry in particular. Most maritime education informatization studies are focused on analyzing and highlighting their own experience of implementing different types of ICTs into the professional training of future professionals. Therefore, analysis and generalization requires the issue of informatization of maritime education abroad. For this purpose, the study used such theoretical methods as analysis, induction, deduction, generalization in order to identify a positive experience in the informatization of maritime education, which can be used to improve the professional education of future maritime specialists. Based on the analysis of scientific works of foreign scientists on the informatization of maritime education, the following generalizations can be made. The fourth industrial revolution and the development of the information society are also affecting the maritime industry, which encourages the revision of the training of future maritime professionals, paying attention to the formation of their ICT competences. Foreign scientists propose the use of the following information technologies in maritime education: computer-based learning as the simplest form of e-learning; multi-user learning environment as a tool for creating virtual audiences and spaces; a three-dimensional virtual world of Second Life with elements of the social network as a platform for modeling gamified professional activity, cooperation and training; information communication technologies to support interaction with loved ones; Smart-education as an organization of education for the purpose of collective education in the World Wide Web; distance learning technologies as a tool for expanding the vocational education system. Key words: computer science, maritime education, maritime professionals, information technology.

Sosialisasi Pembelajaran Digital Bagi Guru SDN 14 Bonto-Bonto Kabupaten Pangkep

The application of digital technology can provide solutions to community problems, especially in the education sector. But there are still many teachers whose teaching abilities have not been supported by these digital technologies. SDN 14 Bonto-Bonto located in Pangkep Regency is the place for the digital learning training process as well as a form of community service carried out by the team of the Informatics Engineering Department of the Faculty of Engineering, Hasanuddin University. This activity is also a venue for socialization and introduction of research results from lecturers and students. Digital learning models can be divided into 2 namely electronic based learning and internet based. Some digital learning methods taught include Augmented Reality, Mind Mapping, and Educational Games. Augmented Reality is a technology that involves overlaying computer graphics in the real world, where three-dimensional virtual worlds can be brought into real-world environments in real-time. Learning to use AR makes students' visual appeal in learning as well as educational games. Mind Mapping is a learning method in the form of visualizing ideas, thoughts or plans to form interconnected diagrams. With this method, students are trained to think structured and easy to solve problems. Mind mapping application itself has been widely available and can be downloaded for free. The training in developing digital learning media that is held is expected to help teachers and students understand the concepts while at the same time foster motivation in learning. This service activity also adds insight to teachers about new learning methods that can make the learning process more enjoyable.

Design, simulation and virtual implementation of a novel fundamental programmable logic controllers laboratory in a 3D virtual world

Thanks to the development of education and internet technologies, two-dimensional educational environments such as internet pages in distance education are starting to leave their places to three-dimensional virtual worlds with more communication and interaction tools, that offer with–without instructor, synchronous–asynchronous and individual–collaborative learning environments. In this study, a new basic programmable logic controllers laboratory was designed, simulated and virtually implemented on Second Life, a 3D virtual world with powerful features such as object construction and programming language. Then, this virtual programmable logic controllers laboratory was introduced to the students of Electricity and Energy Department of Usak University who had previously taken the programmable logic controllers course theoretically, and a survey about this laboratory was administered. One-hundred percent of the students who participated in the survey found this lab to be helpful, and 95.45% found it to be useful. Based on this lab design and evaluations, the specific and general conclusions including the pros and cons are discussed.

Spatial poetics, place, non-place and storyworlds: Intimate spaces for metaverse avatars

Abstract This article will ask questions that connect the conceptions of Marc Augé's 'place/non-place' and Gaston Bachelard's 'poetic space' to the avatar of real-time, perpetual, online, three-dimensional virtual builder's worlds, also known as the metaverse. Are metaverses 'places' or 'non-places'? Do we actually live in the metaverse or do we just traverse these worlds very much in the sense that Marc Augé defines them as transitional loci that are assigned only to circumscribed and specific positions? The question following from this is whether there are nevertheless three-dimensionally embodied virtual spaces that go beyond being transitional 'non-places' to locations in which an imaginative relationship to architecture in the sense in which Bachelard describes them in his seminal work or that correspond to Marc Augé's definition of 'place' exist.

Shopping Decisions Made in a Virtual World: Defining a State-Based Model of Collaborative and Conversational User-Recommender Interactions

A three-dimensional (3-D) virtual world (VW) facilitates users? interactions as they immerse and engage themselves in a shared virtual space. This type of interface may be especially useful when consumers utilize home electronics for accessing personalized online services. Previous research has focused on a collaborative conversational recommender (CCR) framework, in which a synchronous online 3-D interface for multiple consumers integrates with a recommender. In this article, a state-based model of user-recommender interaction that allows users to move from different states of interaction (i.e., individual and collaborative) among users, is defined. It is then evaluated by users and compared with an individual approach. The results from this research demonstrate that the collaborative capacities proposed in the framework improve user experience and significantly increase the performance of the recommendation process, i.e., users take less time in achieving the desired service.

The effect of simulation games on learning computer programming: A comparative study on high school students’ learning performance by assessing computational problem-solving strategies

Computer games are quickly gaining momentum by enabling new approaches to teaching and learning experience for programming courses in K-12 curriculum. However, it remains unclear if the game interface and elements created by using three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds combined with visual programming languages or a visual programming environment can affect students’ learning performance. This quasi-experimental study presents evidence about how a game can assist boys and girls to gain a greater understanding on skills related to CT for developing, implementing and transforming their solution plans into code based on their computational problem-solving strategies. A total of fifty (n = 50) high school students who volunteered to participate in this study divided into a control group (n = 25) and an experimental (n = 25) group that used Scratch and OpenSim with the Scratch4SL palette, respectively to propose their solutions for the same problem-solving tasks via a simulation game. The study findings indicate substantial differences and important points of view about students’ learning performance by assessing their computational problem-solving strategies. Students from the experimental group performed significantly better both in measures of problem-solving and algorithmic thinking. Mean scores on post-questionnaires from the experimental group revealed improvements higher than their control group counterparts in two aspects. First, students of the former group created more complete computational instructions with rules to be specified and delivered the learning goals. Second, students of the same group proposed and applied more correct computational concepts and practices in code. Finally, this study discusses the implications for designing learning experiences using OpenSim with Scratch4SL.